Lucí Hidalgo Nunes

A globally deployable strategy for co-development of adaptation preferences to sea-level rise: the public participation case of Santos, Brazil

Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a range of threats to natural and built environments in coastal zones around the world. Assessment of the risks due to exposure and sensitivity of coastal communities to coastal flooding is essential for informed decision-making. Strategies for public understanding and awareness of the tangible effects of climate change are fundamental in developing policy options. A multidisciplinary, multinational team of natural and social scientists from the USA, the UK, and Brazil developed the METROPOLE Project to evaluate how local governments may decide between adaptation options associated with SLR projections. METROPOLE developed a participatory approach in which public actors engage fully in defining the research problem and evaluating outcomes. Using a case study of the city of Santos, in Brazil, METROPOLE developed a method for evaluating risks jointly with the community, comparing ‘no-action’ to ‘adaptation’ scenarios. At the core of the analysis are estimates of economic costs of the impact of floods on urban real estate under SLR projections through 2050 and 2100. Results helped identify broad preferences and orientations in adaptation planning, which the community, including the Santos municipal government, co-developed in a joint effort with natural and social scientists.

Avaliação espacio-temporal das precipitações extremas e seus impactos no meio urbano: um caso brasileiro

The analysis of the extreme rainfall events in Campinas (SP) from 1976 to 2005, showed an increase in number and type of impacts and a clear socio-spatial pattern - the extreme episodes of rainfall affected more severely the poorest sectors of society, enhancing the problems and risks derived from irregular occupation. Notwithstanding, the whole municipality registered some kind of occurrence, showing that even in lower degree all inhabitants are under some risk.